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Brodhead wins RVC South title

BELOIT — Brodhead center J.J Panoske had a simple message for his teammates during halftime of the Cardinals’ first-place showdown with Beloit Turner: “Get me the ball.”

The Cardinals followed the order to perfection.

Panoske punished the Trojans with a game-high 25 points, while Micah Wallace added 13 to lead Brodhead to an impressive 55-43 victory over Turner here Friday evening.

With the victory, Brodhead (12-7, 9-6) earns at least a share of the Rock Valley South title with one game to play.

“I’m so happy for the team and especially the seniors,” Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said. “They’ve had numerous years of tough luck on the court.”

Turner (10-10, 8-8) finishes the regular season on a sour note and eagerly awaits a post-season tournament opponent.

“The one thing about our kids is that they’ve always bounced back,” Turner coach Ken Watkins said. “Our kids will go into our first regional game with a lot of confidence.”

Not having to deal with the Cardinals’ defense should also boost Turner’s confidence.

After trailing 26-20 at halftime, Brodhead stormed out of the locker room with a 10-2 run to gain its first lead of the game, 30-28 with 3:08 left in the third. The Cardinals finished the third on top, 33-31

Panoske took over from there.

The 6-foot-9 center scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and bullied the Trojans’ offense with a full array of blocked shots to help the Cardinals take control, 39-31, with 5:50 to play.

Turner never drew closer than five the rest of the way.

“I knew they (Turner) were a lot shorter than me, and I just wanted to show everyone that I’m not just an outside shooter,” said Panoske, who racked up 11 fourth-quarter points. “I can play in the post, too, so I just had to show them that and it worked out.”

“In the first half I thought we did a nice job attacking,” Watkins said. “But then in the second half they made some defensive plays and had a couple blocks, and when you have a 6-9 kid in the middle and he’s blocked a couple, now he’s altering all those other shots.”

BRODHEAD 55, BELOIT TURNER 43

Brodhead (55)—Miller, 3-5-11; Cole, 0-4-4; Wallace, 4-2-13; Jacobson, 0-2-2; Panoske, 11-3-25. Totals: 18-16-55.

Turner (43)—Hill, 4-0-8; Jacobs, 0-1-1; Pinckney, 1-0-2; Hallmark, 4-0-8; Conway, 2-3-7; Jones, 3-2-9. Totals: 17-8-43.

Brodhead 10 10 13 22—55

Turner 16 10 5 12—43

Three point goals—Brodhead 3 (Wallace), Turner 1 (Jones). Free throws missed—Brodhead 5, Turner 6. Total fouls—Brodhead 13, Turner 16.